Foundations of social research

FACULTY OF EDUCATION & SOCIAL WORK

Foundations of social research

Introduction to theories of knowledge and foundations of social research

8 August 2013

Opening seminar of the lecture series “Foundations of social research”

CoCo research centreLina Markauskaite

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Outline

1. The nature of inquiryOntology, epistemology, axiology, etc.

2. Disciplined inquiryunderstanding methodological choices

3. From methodology to methodunderstanding instruments

4. Putting science back into the society disciplines, societies & policies

From ideal paradigms to skilful improvisation From science, technology, & evolution to intuition, craft, & creativity

Note: improvisation based on Ingold, 2000

3

Key messages

1. The notion of knowledge that underpins modern research is more creative than the traditional positivist vs. interpretativist debate suggests:

- Modern interpretative thought is more than a plain subjectivism

- Modern scientific method is more than a simple “quantification & computation”

2. Not to turn away from the fundamental tensions between sciences, practices & policies, but to search for meaningful explanations:

- To look deeper into the ideas that emerged at the intersection of modern philosophy, psychology, science & technology

- To seek skilful meshing of different research methodologies, methods, techniques and tools

Nature of inquiry

Approaches in social inquiry

This section is based on Cohen et al, 2002; Neuman, 2006; Denzin & Lincoln, 2005

How do we know?

1. Experience – common sense knowing- Hunches

2. Reasoning – logic - Deductive – formal logic

- Inductive – from observation to generalisation

3. Research – empirical science- Systematic, controlled, inductive-deductive

- Empirical

- Theoretical

- Public, critical, self-reflective and self-correcting

Rene Descartes1596-1650

Francis Bacon1561-1626

Based on Cohen et al, 2002; Neuman, 2006

How do we know social reality?

Objectivist view › Social phenomenon is similar to natural phenomenon› Logic of science discovering existing laws of human

behaviour

Origins› Auguste Comte (1798-1857)› Emile Durheim (1858-1917)

› Experiments, quasi-experiments, survey research, etc

Based on Cohen et al, 2002, Neuman, 2006

Objectivist: Logic of scientific method

Main steps:1. Experience: hunches & hypothesis

2. Conceptualisation & quantification

3. Design of experiment

4. Systematic & controlled manipulation

5. Discovery of cause-effect relationships

6. (Dis)proof of hypothesis

Main research principle - logic & experiment

Based on Cohen et al, 2002

Against scientific method

Classroom episodeTeacher: Wilson, we will have to put

you away, if you don’t change your ways, and do your homework. Is that all you’ve done?

Student: Strawberries, strawberries…

(Laughter)

Coding[7: Teacher criticises]

[4: Teacher asks question]

[9: Pupil irritation]

[10: Silence or confusion]

Context. The teacher used to say: “Pupils’ work is like strawberries – good as far as it goes, but it doesn’t last nearly long enough”.

Why did students react in such ‘odd’ way?

Dealmont 1976, cited in Cohen et al, 2002, 21

How do we know social reality?

Subjectivist view

› Social phenomenon is different from inanimate natural phenomenon

› Research logic accounts for subjectivity & individuality

Origins› Max Weber (1864-1920)› Willem Dilthey (1833-1911)

› Phenomenology, ethnomethodology, symbolic interactionism

Based on Cohen et al, 2002; Neuman 2006

Subjectivist principles of inquiry

Key emphasises:› Knowledge & knowing is situated

› Individuals as constructors

› Process of negotiation is constructed

› Multiple components interact

Main research principle – structuring, analysing, & interpreting situations & events


Approaches & underlying assumptions

1. Ontology

2. Epistemology

3. Axiology

4. Human nature

5. Methodology

Logic & rigor Research Logic & rigor

Objectivist

Subjectivist


What is social reality?

Objectivist

› External to individuals

Subjectivist

› Product of individual consciousness

Realism ONTOLOGY Nominalism


What is knowledge?

Objectivist

› Objective› Discovered› Subject-object relationship

Subjectivist

› Subjective› Personally experienced› Subject-subject relationship

Positivism EPISTEMOLOGY Anti-positivism


How do we act?

Objectivist

› Respond to environment› Action – a mechanic

product of environment

Subjectivist

› Create our environment› Action – a “free will”

Determinism HUMAN NATURE Voluntarism


What is valued, right & moral?

Objectivist

› “Value free” science› Knowledge is instrumental

Subjectivist

› Relativistic inquiry› Knowledge is

transcendental, practical

External AXIOLOGY Internal


How do we research?

Objectivist

› Discovering universal laws in behaviour

› Quantification› Deductive reasoning

Subjectivist

› Understanding of social forms created by people

› Interpretation› Inductive reasoning

Nomothetic METHODOLOGY Ideographic


Some layers of social inquiry

› What kind of conclusions will we be able to draw?

› Where do we focus?

› What kind of evidence do we collect?

› What things do we choose to notice?

› How do we know & research?

› What kinds of questions do we ask?

› How do we see things?ONTOLOGY

EPISTEMOLOGY

METHODOLOGY

INSTRUMENTATION

DATA

ANALYTICAL TECHNIQUES

Realism

Positivism

Nomothetic

Segregation

Numerical

Statistical

Nominalism

Anti-positivist

Ideographic

Integration

Qualitative

Interpretative

How do we choose methodology?

Research Focus & Question MethodologyCausal relationshipsWhat is the relationship between A and B?

Experiment

MeaningWhat is the meaning of this experience?

Phenomenology

Patterns, descriptions What is the culture of this group of people?

Ethnography

Single phenomenonWhat are characteristics of the phenomenon?

Case study

Partly based on Richards & Morse, 2007

What kinds of data do we collect?

Methodology Likely data sources/typesExperiment (causal relationship)

Tests, behavioural measurement, etc.

Phenomenology (meaning)

In-depth conversations, phenomenological literature, etc.

Ethnography (patterns, descriptions)

Observations, field notes, interviews, focus groups, documents, artefacts, etc.

Case study(phenomenon)

Interviews, observations, focus groups, documents, evidences, etc.


How do we choose analytic techniques?

Methodology Analysis techniques

Experiment(causal relationship)

Statistical: comparison, correlation, etc.

Phenomenology (meaning)

Themeing, reflective writing, etc.

Ethnography (patterns, descriptions)

Sorting, identifying topics and patterns, thick description, etc.

Case study(phenomenon)

Structural, interpretational, reflective analysis, etc.


Research question and methodology

› A question about causation: may be ‘before’ and ‘after’ or comparison

› A general question – about a whole population

› Points to a quantitative study perhaps with a quasi-experimental research design

› A question about meanings, experiences and practices

› A question about a particular place and particular phenomenon

› Points to a qualitative study, perhaps an ethnographic case study

Will the use of laptops affect students’ writing skills?

How does this school use laptops in their daily practices?

But this is not so black and white

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“Descartes error”

Post-positivism Critical(Discourse analysis)

Participatory(Action research)

Post-modernism

New materialism

Ecological perspectives

Performative(Arts-based inquiry)

Complexity

Positivist Interpretativist(Interaction analysis, Phenomenology)

Critical realism(Design based research)

Feminism(Discourse analysis)

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“Assemblage” science

› Gilles Deluge

› Realist

› Assemblages vs. totalities

› Social reality as emergent

Emergent ontology› Properties

› Capacities

› Tendencies

Epistemology› Population thinking

› Intensive thinking

› Topological thinking

New Materiality: Assemblage theory

Simon McIntyre, in progress

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“Performative” science

Ontology› Materialist

› Phenomenological

› Psychology of perception

Epistemology› Performative: centrality of “raw”

perception, skill, body and action

› [Anthropology] is not a study of at all, but a study with. Anthropologists work and study with people. Immersed with them in an environment of joint activity, they learn to see things (or hear them, or touch them) <…> it educates our perception of the world, and opens our eyes and minds to other possibilities of being.” (Ingold, 2010, 238)

Material ecology

It is NOT an eclectic constellation of different ontologies, epistemologies

and methodologiesNEXT

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Example from my research

How do concepts become “actionable”?

Model view Culture

(Formal concepts)

Module view Context

(Functional concepts)

Modality view Experience

(Situated concepts)

A

E

B

B

C A

E B

C A

E B

CA

E B

C A

Markauskaite & Goodyear (in progress) “Epistemic fluency and professional action”. Springer Based on Greeno, 2012; Barsalou, 2009

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How do concepts become “actionable”?

S2: You could have a jigsaw kind of thing happening. (…) Where you take, so if you’ve got groups, you’ve got everyone in their individual groups and then you switch it around so that you share it with the other people that were not in your group.

(….)

S2: It could get messy, I know, I know, but just as theoretical – it sounds like it could work, but I don’t know in practice.

(….)

S2: Yeah, but kids, I don’t think there’s gonna be that much discussion, I just think that’s gonna be more “show me your thing” and then ((shows writing gesture)) copy, copy, copy ((all laugh)). You know how it is.

(….)

S3: But maybe … [4 seconds] (…) ‘cause I remember with – when we did jigsaw – like the kids ‘d actually test, like we were tested like when we did it in a tutorial, we were tested on it, so it wasn’t just procrastination. They must have actually done something.

How do pre-service teachers learn conceptual knowledge?

[Formal]

[Functional]

[Functional]

[Situated]

[Situated]

[Functional]

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Ontological and epistemological foundations

Ontology: realist, dynamic

Axiology: internal-external

Epistemology: manifold

Human nature: grounded

Methodology: interpretativeImmanuel Kant1724-1804

Thomas S. Kuhn1922-1996

David Hume1711-1776

Lawrence Barsalou

Stephen Toulmin1922-2009

Atkinson & Shriffin

Grounded cognition & manifold view of human conceptual understanding

It is NOT an eclectic constellation

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Theory & methodology

› a system of interconnected ideas that condenses and organizes knowledge and presents a systematic view about a phenomenon: concepts, definitions, propositions, relationships, etc

E.g., feminist theory, complexity theory, conflict theory, consensus theory

Kinds of theories› Grand theories – broad

narratives, ontological and epistemological postulates that define a field of inquiry.

› Empirical theories – empirically testable theories

› Critical theories – knowledge via interpretation or self-reflection

Theory

Based on Cohen et al, 2002, Neuman 2006

Nature of inquiry

Method, instruments & data

Research methods

“Though this be madness, yet there is method in it” From Shakespeare’s, “Hamlet” [Polonius’ comment on Hamlet’s behaviour]

Methodology - theoretical, political and philosophical approaches to systematic inquiry

“Know why”

Method – systematic procedures that underpin knowledge production cycle, particularly data gathering and analysis

“Know how”

Power of instruments: Seeing invisible

› Data is only a very tiny representation of the “actual thing”

› Instruments are not equal

› Choice of instruments & data is a big choice

› Determines, what is included and what is lost forever

Images from Dimper, eResearch Australasia, 2007

Power of instruments: Large picture

Structured

Power of instruments: In depth picture

Individuals

Change over time

Space

› Same data can have multiple meanings

› Analytical tools & techniques are key for getting results

Images from Hopkin 2002, 90-94

Evolution of scientific & social methods

Scientific research

1. Empirical: Aristotle

2. Logical-theoretical: Newton, Kepler

3. Computational: modelling

4. Exploratory: data-driven

Social research

1. Descriptive: qual & quan.

2. Theory-oriented: interpretative & experimental

3. Constructivist-critical: action, design-based, cybernetics

4. ?“Social” data mining, performative

Cutting-edge discoveries emerge at the edges of disciplinary domains from the synthesis of theories, experiments and computation using large

integrated datasetsBased on Szalay, 2007

Data mining in “a nutshell”

Data mining is the process of discovering hidden messages, patterns and knowledge within large amounts of data and of making predictions for outcomes or behaviours

It is different from canonical statistical thinking

What could be mined: Administrative records Digital learning traces

Texts & numbers Lots of data

Data mining vs. statistics in “a nutshell”

An example: › Peter is a PhD student who will do his fieldwork in a remote area. What

kind of support might help him to succeed?

Possible statistical question: Which kinds of support are related

to the success of PhD students in remote areas?

Possible data mining question: What kinds of support were

successful (and not) for PhD students similar to Peter?

PhD students in rural areas

Peter

BackgroundLearning

history Thesis aims

Ruralschool

Etc

Ruralarea

Statistics vs. data mining

Statistics Data mining

Data samples* Purposeful, structured, ideally experimental

Realistic, opportunity, messy

Approach Confirmatory Exploratory

Inquiry process* Starts from theory/ hypothesis Starts from data

Theory Informs hypothesis Informs mining process

Assumptions about population* Homogenity Variation

Generalizability Commonality Idiosyncratic behaviour

Target Inform theory Inform action

Nature of inquiry

Putting social research back into the society

Key qualities of “good research”

1. Technically good

2. Show something new

3. Meaningful

Judgements include:

Research

How well was it done?

Education

What was achieved?

Based on Yates, 2004

Not all counts as research

“Awful reputation” of educational research

Failures:

› Rigour & coherence› Commensurability of findings

› Society expectations› Ideological bias

› Knowledge for decision-making› Practical benefit for teachers

Research

How well was it done?

Education

What was achieved?

PolicyWhat does matter?

Based on Whitty, 2006

Research: Commensurability & Epistemological awareness

Education is field of study, rather than a discipline

Advantages:› Different research questions› Multiplicity of perspectives› Multiplicity of methodologies

Challenges:› Different findings› Commensurability?› Epistemological awareness

Disciplinary roots:› Anthropology› Ethology› Linguistic› Psycholog(ies)› Sociology(ies)› History› Policy studies› Genetics› Artificial intelligence› Etc…

Education: Imperatives & inquiry approaches

Political

Pastoral

Cultural heritage

Skilling

Regulative

Human capital

Individual expression

Functions of

schooling

Based on Freebody, 2003

Purpose of research: Pasteur's quadrant

Everyday curiosity

Image from: http://publishingarchaeology.blogspot.com.au/2011/05/is-there-archaeology-in-pasteurs.html

Design based research

Action research, evaluation studies

Theory-oriented research: cognition, brain, etc

Research as “method” and Research as “craft”

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Design

Data

Analysis

Findings Theory

Question Hypothesis

Design

Data

Analysis

Findings

Question

Hypothesis

Design

Data

Analysis

Hypothesis

Data

Analysis

Analysis

Analysis

Hypothesis

Findings

Findings

Theory

Findings

Method

Epistemic craft

Improvisation based on Patton (2011) Developmental evaluation

How do we know?

1. Experience – common sense knowing- Hunches

2. Reasoning – logic - Deductive – formal logic

- Inductive – from observation to generalisation

3. Research – empirical science- Systematic, controlled, inductive-deductive

- Theoretical

- Empirical

- Public, critical, self-reflective and self-correcting

4. Craft – knowledge, intelligent perception, skill & improvisation

Rene Descartes1596-1650

Francis Bacon1561-1626

Improvisation based on Ingold (2000)

53

Main sources

› Barsalou, L. W. (2009). Situating Concepts. In P. Robbins & M. Aydede (Eds.), The Cambridge Handbook of Situated Cognition (pp. 236-263). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

› Byrne, D. S. (1998). Complexity theory and the social sciences: an introduction. London: Routledge.

› Carter, B., & New, C. (Eds.). (2004). Making realism work: realist social theory and empirical research. London: Routledge.

› Chalmers, A. F. (1999). What is this thing called science? (3rd ed.). St Lucia, Qld: University of Queensland Press.

› Cohen, L., Manion, L., & Morrison, K. (2007). Research methods in education (6th ed.). London: Routledge.

› Connell, R. (2007). Southern theory: the global dynamics of knowledge in the social sciences. Crows Nest: Allen & Unwin.

› De Landa, M. (2006). A new philosophy of society: assemblage theory and social complexity. London: Continuum.

› Denzin, N. K., & Lincoln, Y. S. (2011). The Sage handbook of qualitative research (4th ed.). Thousand Oaks: Sage.

› Dimper, R. (2007). High performance computing for synchrotron radiation research. Paper presented at the eResearch Australasia conference, Brisbane, 26-29 June 2007.

› Fenwick, T., Edwards, R., & Sawchhuk, P. (2011). Emerging approaches to educational research: Tracing the sociomaterial. London: Routledge.

› Freebody, P. (2003). Qualitative research in education: interaction and practice. London: SAGE Publications.

› Greeno, J. G. (2012). Concepts in Activities and Discourses. Mind, Culture, and Activity, 19(3), 310-313.

› Hey, T., Tansley, S., & Tolle, K. (Eds.). (2009). The fourth paradigm: Data-intensive scientific discovery. Remond: Microsoft Research.

› Hopkins, D. (2002). A teacher's guide to classroom research (3rd ed.). Buckingham: Open University Press.

› Ingold, T. (2000). The perception of the environment: essays on livelihood, dwelling and skill. London: Routledge.

› Ingold, T. (2011). Being Alive: Essays on Movement, Knowledge and Description. Oxon, OX: Routledge.

› Knorr-Cetina, K. (1999). Epistemic cultures: how the sciences make knowledge. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

› Latour, B., & Woolgar, S. (1979). Laboratory life: The social construction of scientific facts. Beverly Hills: Sage.

› Markauskaite, L., Freebody, P., & Irwin, J. (Eds.). (2010). Methodological choice and design: scholarship, policy and practice in social and educational research. Dordrecht: Springer.

› Neuman, W. L. (2006). Social research methods: qualitative and quantitative approaches (4th ed.). Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon.

› Patton, M. Q. (2011). Developmental evaluation applying complexity concepts to enhance innovation and use. New York: Guilford Press.

› Richards, L., & Morse, J. M. (2011). Readme first: Users guide to qualitative methods (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks: Sage.

› Szalay, A. (2007). Science in an exponential world. Paper presented at the eResearch Australasia conference, Brisbane, 26-29 June 2007.

› Whitty, G. (2006). Education(al) research and education policy making: Is conflict inevitable? British Educational Research Journal, 32(2), 159-176.

› Yates, L. (2004). What does good education research look like? situating a field and its practices. Maidenhead: Open University Press.

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Foundations of social research